


When It All Comes Crashing Down

by CottonCandyWhump



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Misunderstandings, Vomiting, Whump, emeto, hurt!buck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-12-21 03:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21067985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CottonCandyWhump/pseuds/CottonCandyWhump
Summary: An injury, a misunderstanding and some angsty whump.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago but didn’t realize I forgot to post it and I read a similar work like three minutes ago that reminded me about it’s existence. It may have been posted on tumblr once upon a time but I would have to check.

To say that the ride back to the station was tense would be to say that the ocean is just a puddle. Annoyance and anger radiated off firefighters in waves, filling the truck with tension you could cut with a knife. 

The truck finally stops, having arrived at its destination. The rest of the team gets off, Chim heading to the locker room with Eddie to treat his burn, leaving Buck and Bobby behind. Buck goes to leave but is roughly dragged back by Bobby yanking on his jacket. He lets out a yelp as his ribs are jostled but doesn’t say anything as his captain faces him, pure anger written all over his face. Buck swallows heavily. He had never seen his captain so mad, not even when that jackass kept hitting on Hen a few months ago.

“Bobby, I’m-,” Buck starts, attempting to apologize.

“Do you understand how reckless that was? You could’ve gotten us all killed! There’s a difference between risking your own life and the lives of your teammates! Do you understand me?!? Someone could’ve gotten killed and it would have been your fault! You’re lucky Eddie escaped with a minor burn after that stunt you pulled! I don’t think anyone trusts you to have their backs anymore; you’re washing the trucks for the rest of the day and don’t even think about coming in tomorrow!” Bobby lectures him. Buck bows his head in shame as he’s reminded of the events leading up to this.

~~~ Four hours ago ~~~

The team pulls up to a fire in an apartment complex and as soon as they jump out, Bobby starts barking orders. 

“Chim, Hen, you’re on the roof. Buck, Eddie, you’re going in. Stick together and do not split up! I mean it!” 

Buck and Eddie use the ladder to climb up to the fourth floor where they crawl in through an open window and are immediately hit with the warmth of the flames. 

“Hey Buck, there’s someone here!” Eddie calls and Buck makes his way over to where his teammate is leaning over a body. Buck checks the pulse.

“Gone,” he announces.

“Help!” Somebody calls and the two men make their way over to the source of the sound. They find a man pinned under a piece of the ceiling, blood covering his face.

“Buck, I need you to help me lift this,” Eddie says, looking over to where his teammate was, only to see him running off in the opposite direction.

“Buck! Where are you going?!? Come back! I need help! Buck!” Eddie calls after him.

“Where’s he going?” The man asks and Eddie can only shake his head. 

~~~

As Buck goes to kneel down beside the man, a movement catches his eye. He gets up and sees a small boy limping down the hall, banging on doors.

“Hey! Wait!” He calls, running after him. He can hear Eddie calling his name and yells back, “There’s a kid! I’ll be right back! Wait for me!”

He finds the boy sitting on the ground beside one of the doors, sobbing.

“Hey,” Buck says, startling the young boy. “My name’s Buck. I’m a firefighter. If you come with me, I can get you out of here, okay?” 

The boy nods and tries to stand up, crying out as his leg buckles, sending him to the ground. Buck scoops the boy up and heads back to where he left Eddie.

“Eddie?” He calls, seeing the area empty except for the beam that was previously pinning the man down. Buck stops for a second before deciding that the man needed medical attention and Eddie couldn’t wait for him.

He’s about to step towards the still open window when another piece of the ceiling comes down. Buck barely has time to wrap his body around the kid before the chunk of the ceiling falls, smacking his back and trapping him underneath. 

“Are you okay?” He asks the boy who nods.

“Good. Can you tell me your name?” Buck asks, trying to keep the kid calm as he tries to find a way out.

“Nick,” the boy answers.

“Okay, Nick. I’m going to need you to be brave and listen to me. Can you do that for me?” Buck asks. The boy nods as the room starts spinning and Buck closes his eyes for second to stop it. When he opens them, the boys crying and tapping his face. 

“Mr. Buck! I thought you were dead!” He cries when Buck opens his eyes.

“No way. I’m not dying that easily,” Buck says with a grin. How long was I out? He wonders. Another chunk of the ceiling comes down and Buck pulls the kid towards him, sheltering his with his body. Buck lets out a yell as the chunk hits his already painful back. 

“Listen, Nick. I need you to go to that window over there. There should be a ladder there. Crawl down and ask around for Fireman Diaz. Tell him that Buckley’s down, okay?” Buck instructs the kid as more bits of material land on the pieces trapping him. The boy nods and heads over to the window.

“There’s no ladder!” The boy yells, close to tears.

“Shit!” Buck curses as the boy crawls back over.

“Okay, new plan. Nick, you have to try and move this big chunk off of me so I can get you out,” Buck tells him, knowing it’s a long shot but not knowing what else to do. 

The boy nods and crawls over to the piece before running off and returning a few seconds later with a long piece of wood. He quickly outs one end under the chunk trapping Buck, and pushes on the other.

By some miracle or divine intervention, the piece moves and slides off Buck, tearing his uniform and leaving a streak of blood behind.

“Good job, Nick! You’re really smart!” Buck tells him and he and the boy make their way to one of the back windows. Buck and Nick climb out onto the balcony and Buck bites his lip, trying to find a way to get them both out safely. Spotting a pool almost directly below them, Buck gets an idea.

“Nick, can you swim?” He asks and the boy nods.

“Okay. Hang on,” Buck says, picking the boy up and jumping off the balcony. Buck lets go just before land in the water with a splash.

Buck surfaces, spitting out the water and looking around frantically for Nick. He sighs in relief when the boy pops up, making his way to the side of the pool.

“Nick!” Somebody shouts and Buck looks up just in time to see a lady running over and scooping the boy up, hugging him and kissing him anywhere she can.

“Mommy!” Nick yells, clutching her like a lifeline. The woman sets Nick down just as Buck makes his way out of the pool.

“Thank you!” The woman exclaims, grabbing Buck and wrapping her arms around him in a huge bear hug. He lets out a strangled yelp as the pain flares up again, black spots clouding his vision.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” She apologizes, letting him go immediately. 

“It’s ok. Nothing too serious,” he lies.

“It was scary, Mom. The ceiling was breaking and Mr. Buck was trapped! But I did what Ms. Young taught me and make a seesaw! I can be a firefighter now!” Nick tells his mother, clearly excited. 

“You should get that checked out at the hospital,” The mom tells Buck, giving him a light hug before walking away, her son in her arms.

Buck sighs and turns to find his team again.

~~~ Present ~~~

“Buck! BUCK! Are you even listening?!?” Bobby snaps, bringing him back to reality.

“Yeah. Washing trucks. Understood. Do you think I could leave quickly and go-,” he asks, remembering the moms suggestion of the hospital.

“No,” Bobby says.

“But I should probably get-,” Buck starts again.

“I said no!” Bobby snaps and goes to say more but is interrupted by the alarm. “I want the trucks clean by the time we get back. When you’re done, start on the hoses. And don’t go anywhere! You leave the station, you’re fired!” 

Bucks nods and Bobby leaves to join the team. Buck heads to the locker room and puts on some dry clothes before putting away the first aid kit that Chim and Eddie left out.

He starts on the ladder truck, cleaning for a good hour and a half before he gets hungry and goes upstairs to make himself a quick sandwich. He sits down on the couch to eat but when he stands up to wash his plate, he’s hit by a sudden wave of dizziness and just barely puts his plate down before he passes out, his limp body falling onto the couch.

~~~ Three Hours Later ~~~

“That was intense!” Eddie grins as he and the team make their way upstairs. They walks past the couch on their way to the kitchen and Bobby stops, glaring at the plate on the table next to the sleeping form of Evan Buckley.

“He can’t even clean up after himself?” Chim mutters, taking the plate and dropping it in the sink.

Bobby’s about to wake the man up when a ladies voice rings through the station. The firefighters make their way over to the railing to see a blond lady with a box in one hand and a little boys hand clutched in the other.

“Hello?” She calls, unsurely.

“Can I help you ma’am?” Bobby asks, making his way downstairs.

“I’m looking for a firefighter,” she says, looking up at the firefighters leaning against the railing.

“What’s their name?” Bobby asks.

“Buck! He saved me! Like a superhero!” The boy says excitedly and Bobby notices a blue cast on his leg.

“I’ll go see if I can find him for you. Why don’t you come up?” Bobby offers, heading upstairs with the lady and her son following him. Bobby takes her over to meet the others while Hen goes to wake up Buck.

“Nap times over, Buckley. You have a visitor,” Hen tells the sleeping firefighter.

“Where am I?” He asks, clearly disoriented.

“Look around, smart guy,” Hen tells him and he frowns, mumbling something about not remembering.

“Come on. You have visitors,” she says, eyeing his bed head.

Buck stands up to follow her but doubles over suddenly, vomiting down Hen’s uniform.

“Woah!” She exclaims, jumping back.

“That’s gross, man. What did you have for lunch? Pasta?” Chim asks, coming up behind him. The teasing stops when the next round of vomit is dark red with blood. 

“Chim, get the truck ready! We need to get him to the hospital!” Bobby orders. Bobby steps forward to get Buck to the truck when his eyes roll into the back of his head and Buck collapses into a puddle of his own vomit.

“Chim, we need that truck ready! Now!” Bobby calls, picking up the unconscious firefighter and carrying him to the ambulance, ignoring the mess that transfers over to his clothes. He hears Eddie in the background telling the lady to come another time.

Bobby lays Buck down on the back seat and pulls off his shirt to check for injuries. His heart skips a beat when he sees the huge bruise spread over Buck’s side. It’s a rainbow of colours, blue, purple, yellow and even green stain his body.

Buck opens his eyes and looks up at Bobby.

“What’s going on?” He asks, looking around.

“We’re taking you to the hospital, Buckaroo,” Hen explains, giving him a small smile.

“What happened to you?” Buck asks, eyeing the mess on Hen’s uniform.

“You don’t remember?” She asks frowning.

Buck shakes his head which he seems to regret a minute later as he leans over the seat, throwing up more blood red vomit onto the floor of the truck. 

“That happened,” Eddie explains as Bobby rubs circles into his back.

“I’m sorry,” Buck apologizes, looking at the mess on the floor.

“It’s okay. It’s been through worse. We’ll clean it out later,” Bobby promises, more concerned with the health of the man in front of him than the state of the truck. Buck nods once before fading back into unconsciousness.

“Chim, drive faster!” Bobby yells and he feels Chim speed up, flicking the lights and sirens on.

They pull into the hospital and Bobby gets Buck out in record time.

“He’s been in and out of consciousness, has trouble remembering events and he’s been throwing up blood,” Bobby tells them as he carries Buck into the ER.

There’s a couple police officers at the front desk, one of them arguing with the nurse on duty about proper protocol. 

“What if someone tries to take her weapon, huh?” The officer argues and the nurse nods, realizing his mistake and leading the woman and the man down the hall.

“Hey! He needs help!” Hen calls to the nurse whose eyes go wide when he sees them. He looks between the officers and them for a second before giving the officers a few instructions and running over to the firefighters.

“What’s his name?” The nurse asks.

“Evan Buckley,” Bobby tells him, laying the firefighter down on the gurney.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him,” the nurse promises as they wheel him away.

Bobby nods and settles in for a long night of waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

“I think he’s waking up!” 

“Shhh!”

“Buck, can you hear us?”

Buck squeezes his eyes shut, wanting just another few minutes of rest. 

“Buck? Open your eyes, hon.”

Buck ignores whoever's speaking, hoping they’ll take the hint and let him sleep.

“Buck? Come on. We need you to open your eyes, buddy.”

This time, he listens, if only to tell them to leave him alone. Immediately, the bright light assaults his vision, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut again. 

“The light!” 

“Turn it off!”

There’s the sound of a scuffle before somebody’s hand is on his shoulder. “You can open your eyes now, Buck. The light is off.”

Hesitantly, Buck opens his eyes, taking in the sight. His entire team was crammed into the tiny hospital room, Bobby standing beside his bed with Hen, Chim, and Eddie behind him. 

“What’s going on? Why am I in the hospital?” 

Bobby’s face does something weird and Buck frowns. “You were hurt saving a boy from the fire.”

Those words trigger something and a rush of memories come flooding back. He remembers being stuck underneath the debris with the little boy and jumping into the pool. He remembers the tense ride back to the station and Bobby reaming him over leaving Eddie. He definitely remembers passing out and waking up in the ambulance on the way here. 

“Do you remember now?”

“Sort of. It’s a bit fuzzy.”

“Good. It was a close call, Buckaroo,” Hen tells him, trying to hold back her tears. “Your spleen ruptured.”

“My spleen?”

“But they were able to repair it,” Bobby rushes to assure him, knowing the effect missing a spleen would have on his job.

Buck nods, still trying to understand what was going on. His head felt all fuzzy but he was sure that if everyone just slowed down, he would get it.

Chim seems to notice his confusion and smiles softly. “Don’t worry about it, Buck. Get some sleep and we’ll explain everything again afterwards.”

Buck nods, unable to keep his eyes open any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I’m not very reliable when it comes to multi chapter fics so let’s see how this goes.


End file.
